Customized on-line user guide

ABSTRACT

A method and a system for providing automated information to a subscriber of a mobile telecommunications system in which a request for information is received on a mobile telecommunications system from a mobile communications device, such as a cellular telephone or a personal communications device. A type of mobile communication device from which the request for information is received is determined by accessing a mobile communications device profile based on an ESN and an MIN associated with the mobile communications device. The requested information is then sent to the mobile communications device. The requested information is context specific to the type of mobile communications device from which the request for information is received.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications.More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and asystem for providing automated information to users of a mobilecommunications system.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Mobile, or wireless, telecommunications service providers offer avariety of services to subscribers, such as call forwarding andvoice-mail messaging. As the number of services grow, it is increasinglydifficult for subscribers to remember how to access all of the featuresof a particular service from a mobile telephone because feature codesare usually numeric values, such as *56 or *71, having no apparentassociation with a particular feature. Similarly, some features areinfrequently accessed by a subscriber, such as changing call forwardingwhen going on vacation, and are not readily remembered.

[0005] One approach to overcome this problem that has been tried by somemobile telecommunications service providers is to distribute printedhandbooks to subscribers. This approach has met with limited successbecause it is not realistic to expect subscribers to carry and refer tosuch a handbook.

[0006] Some mobile telecommunications service providers have tried toaddress the problem of providing help information by providing a “611”number that connects a subscriber to a customer service representative.Nevertheless, it is desirable to automate customer help service as muchas possible so that subscribers are not required to wait for a customerservice representative.

[0007] Providing automated help via telephone or other electroniccommunications system is well-known. In such a systems a user enters aninformation request using either DTMF tones or spoken words that arerecognized using well-known speech recognition techniques. For example,U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,183 to Bareis et al. discloses a cellulartelecommunications system that uses spoken commands for dialingtelephone calls. The Bareis et al. system includes a speaker-dependentspeech recognition system that performs customized functions based onthe MIN of the subscriber. Pre-recorded instructional messages aregenerated by the system for instructing a subscriber on progress inusing the system, such as prompts like “Ready for command”, and “Phonenumber please”. While the Bareis et al. system provides automated helpfor customizing dialing functions in response to spoken commands, theBareis et al. system does not respond to a request for information abouta specific service function or feature.

[0008] Further, help information is typically most needed when asubscriber is roaming into another market area that provides differentfeatures and feature codes than offered in the subscriber's home market.For example, in the situation when a subscriber roams into a market areathat provides a Do Not Disturb (DND) service from a market area thatdoes not provide such a service, dialing 611 may not provide thesubscriber with the desired help information because a 611 call will berouted to a customer service facility for the visited market and may notprovide the same interface capability as the customer service facilityof the subscriber's home market.

[0009] Another related problem associated with providing automating helpservices for wireless subscribers is that each different wirelesstelephone type of model potentially accesses service features in adifferent way. Consequently, automation of help service functionsbecomes complicated because different subscribers need different helpexplanations based on their terminal equipment. Providing contextsensitive help information in a computer system environment iswell-known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,323 to Miller et al.discloses a system for providing help to computer system users.According to Miller et al., context sensitive help is tailored to theneeds of individual users. Nevertheless, Miller et al. does not disclosethat help information can be provided based on the equipment used by theuser requesting the help information. Further, Miller et al. is directedto a computer system environment, not a telecommunications systemenvironment.

[0010] What is needed is a way to provide automated help information tosubscribers of a mobile telecommunications system that is contextsensitive with respect to the mobile terminal equipment being used by asubscriber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention provides a method and a system forproviding automated help information to subscribers of a mobiletelecommunications system that is context sensitive with respect to themobile terminal equipment being used by a subscriber. Thus, a subscribercan conveniently obtain answers for the following exemplary questionsabout services without calling a customer service representative: How doI store a telephone number in memory? How do I retrieve a telephonenumber from memory. How do I read a text message? How do I store a textmessage? What capabilities does the cellular network have for CallingNumber ID?

[0012] The advantages of the present invention are provided by a methodand a system for providing automated information to a subscriber of amobile telecommunications system in which a request for information isreceived on a mobile telecommunications system from a mobilecommunications device, such as a cellular telephone or a personalcommunications device. A type of mobile communication device from whichthe request for information is received is determined by accessing amobile communications device profile based on an ESN and an MINassociated with the mobile communications device. The requestedinformation is then sent to the mobile communications device. Accordingto the invention, the requested information is context specific to thetype of mobile communications device from which the request forinformation is received.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0013] The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the accompanying figures in which like reference numeralsindicate similar elements and in which:

[0014]FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a mobiletelecommunications system providing an automated help service accordingto the present invention; and

[0015]FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram for a process of providing anautomated help service for a mobile telecommunications system accordingto the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] The present invention provides a automated help service tosubscribers of a mobile, or wireless, telecommunications system that iscontext sensitive with respect to the particular type of mobile terminaldevice used by subscriber requesting help information. According to theinvention, a subscriber requests help by pressing a predetermined key orsequence keys on the keypad, such as *help (*4357). The subscriber isthen connected to an Intelligent Peripheral (IP) platform that is partof the mobile telecommunications system. The IP platform performs adatabase query, based on the ESN and the MIN associated with thesubscriber for accessing a profile associated with the subscriber, fordetermining the type of terminal device being used by the subscriber.Based on the results of the query, the IP platform generates automatedresponses, customized for the particular terminal device being used bythe subscriber, for providing requested help information.

[0017] The present invention provides subscribers of a wirelesstelecommunications system with a capability of obtaining automatedon-line help information about wireless service features without beingrequired to speak to a customer service representative. The on-line helpservice of the present invention provides specific information aboutparticular wireless services that are available to a subscriber, such asdetails regarding an unconditional call forwarding service, and/orspecific feature codes, such as *71. Preferably, the on-line helpinformation can be accessed via the mobile terminal device and via theInternet.

[0018]FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a mobiletelecommunications system 10 providing an automated help serviceaccording to the present invention. Mobile telecommunications system 10includes a Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO) 11 connected to aplurality of base stations (BS) 12 in a well-known manner. System 10includes a plurality of MTSOs, even though only one MTSO is shown.Mobile stations (MS) 13, or mobile terminal devices, communicate with anearby base station in a well-known manner using wireless communicationlinks 14. Each mobile terminal device, such as a cellular telephone or apersonal communications device, is uniquely identified by two numbers:an electronic serial number (ESN) encoded in the phone by itsmanufacturer, and a mobile identification number (MIN), which is themobile telephone number programmed within the mobile telecommunicationssystem. As used herein, a wireless or mobile communications system meansa cellular, a satellite or a personal communications networkenvironment.

[0019] An Intelligent Peripheral (IP) platform 15 is connected to MTSO11 is a well-known manner. IP platform 15 includes a control unit 16coupled to a database 17 that stores mobile communications deviceprofile information for each subscriber of system 10. In operation,control unit 16 receives a request for help information from a mobilecommunications device 13 over system 10. Control unit 16 determines atype of mobile communication device from which the request for helpinformation is received based on accessing a profile for the mobilecommunications device stored in database 17. IP platform 15 then sendsrequested help information to the requesting mobile communicationsdevice. The help information sent by IP platform 15 is made contextspecific based on the type of mobile communications device from whichthe request was received.

[0020]FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram 20 for a process for providing anautomated help service to a mobile telecommunications system subscriberaccording to the present invention. A wireless subscriber dials aspecial access number, such as, a three digit number, an “800” number,or “*HELP”, etc., for accessing the automated on-line help informationservice of the present invention from a mobile terminal 13. The helpinformation request call is routed to Intelligent Peripheral (IP)platform 15, which receives the call at step 21. At step 22, controlunit 16 makes a query to database 17 for obtaining a user profile basedon the ESN and the MIN received with the help request call.

[0021] At step 23, control unit 16 generates a menu providing therequesting subscriber with the ability to request information aboutfeatures of a specific service or a specific feature code. According tothe present invention, the menu is context specific for the equipmentbeing used by the requesting subscriber. Information requests are madeby the subscriber at step 24 by either entry of DTMF digits from thekeypad of the mobile terminal device and/or by speaking voice commands.The voice commands are recognized using well-known speech recognitiontechniques. In response to a request, the IP platform plays a recordingproviding the wireless subscriber with the requested information that iscontext specific based on the subscriber's equipment at step 25.

[0022] The information provided by the IP platform is specificallydirected to the type of mobile terminal device 13 used by a requestingsubscriber. That is, an information message such as “The feature ______provides the capability to ______; however, feature ______ is notavailable for your specific handset model, but is available on the AT&TDigital PCS handsets” may be generated by IP platform 15, where ______is the particular network service for which help information isrequested. The help information message can also refer to an Internetweb page as another convenient way to access help information regardingwireless services available from mobile telecommunications system 10.Additionally, IP platform can provide help information that is specificto the type of wireless terminal equipment being used by the subscriber,such as help information about how to store and retrieve telephonenumbers in the memory of the handset, and how to read, store andretrieve text messages.

[0023] At step 26, the subscriber is allowed to request more informationabout other wireless features and/or feature codes. Preferably, accessto the on-line help information is also available to wireless terminalusers who do not subscribe to the mobile services offered by system 10so that they can experience the convenience of the on-line helpinformation of the present invention and/or compare the services andfeatures offered by system with the services and features that areavailable through their mobile telecommunications service provider.Alternatively, access to the on-line help information via a mobilehandset can be restricted to existing subscribers to the wirelessnetwork depending on the dialing pattern that is required for accessingthe on-line help information.

[0024] Any existing or potential wireless subscribers are able to accessthe online help information web page over the Internet 19 (FIG. 1). Theweb page accessible over the Internet can part of the services providedby IP platform 15 or can be remotely located from IP platform 14.Preferably, the Internet web page provides the ability to requestinformation about a particular wireless service, a specific feature codefor a particular wireless service, all services and features supportedby the wireless network, and/or all feature codes supported by thewireless network within the context of a mobile communication devicethat is selected upon accessing the web page.

[0025] While the present invention has been described in connection withthe illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated and understood thatmodifications may be made without departing from the true spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing automated information to asubscriber of a mobile telecommunications system, the method comprisingthe steps of: receiving a request for information on a mobiletelecommunications system from a mobile communications device;determining a type of mobile communication device from which the requestfor information is received; and sending the requested information tothe mobile communications device, the requested information beingcontext specific to the type of mobile communications device from whichthe request for information is received.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, wherein step of determining further comprises the step ofaccessing a mobile communications device profile.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein the step of receiving the request forinformation includes the step of receiving an EsN and an MIN associatedwith the mobile communications device, and wherein the step of accessinga mobile communications device profile is based on the ESN and the MINassociated with the mobile communications device.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 3, wherein the mobile communications device is acellular telephone.
 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein themobile communications device is a personal communications device.
 6. Themethod according to claim 3, wherein the step of receiving the requestfor information includes the step of receiving a DTMF tone correspondingto an information request command.
 7. The method according to claim 3,wherein the step of receiving the request for information includes thestep of receiving a voice command corresponding to an informationrequest command.
 8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the step ofsending the requested information to the mobile communications deviceincludes the step of generating an audible message containing therequested information.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein theaudible message includes information relating to an alternate way foraccessing the requested information.
 10. A system for providingautomated information to a subscriber of a mobile telecommunicationssystem, the system comprising: a database storing mobile communicationsdevice profile information; and a control unit, coupled to the database,receiving a request for information over a mobile telecommunicationssystem from a mobile communications device, the control unit determininga type of mobile communication device from which the request forinformation is received based on accessing a profile for the mobilecommunications device stored in the database, and sending the requestedinformation to the mobile communications device, the requestedinformation being context specific to the type of mobile communicationsdevice from which the request for information is received.
 11. Thesystem according to claim 10, wherein the request for informationincludes an ESN and an MIN associated with the mobile communicationsdevice, and wherein the mobile communications device profile based onthe ESN and the MIN associated with the mobile communications device.12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the mobile communicationsdevice is a cellular telephone.
 13. The system according to claim 11,wherein the mobile communications device is a personal communicationsdevice.
 14. The system according to claim 11, wherein the request forinformation includes a DTMF tone corresponding to an information requestcommand.
 15. The system according to claim 11, wherein the request forinformation includes a voice command corresponding to an informationrequest command.
 16. The system according to claim 11, wherein when thecontrol unit sends the requested information, the control unit generatesan audible message containing the requested information.
 17. The methodaccording to claim 16, wherein the audible message includes informationrelating to an alternate way for accessing the requested information.